Jowie Irungu alias Jowie, who was the prime suspect, was Friday found guilty of the horrific murder.
Delivering the judgment, Lady Justice Grace Nzioka ruled that the prosecution had adduced adequate evidence and “proved beyond reasonable doubt” that Jowie indeed killed Monica.
“Having considered the evidence in this matter, it is the finding of this court that the prosecution has adduced adequate evidence and has met the threshold… It is the finding of this court that the first accused person murdered the deceased,” ruled Justice Nzioka.
In convicting Jowie of the murder, the judge highlighted all the ingredients of the offence of murder that, based on evidence adduced by the prosecution, informed her decision to find Jowie guilty.
Justice Nzioka based her verdict on six issues of determination including whether Jowie Irungu knew Monica before her death, whether the accused stole and used the stolen I.D to access where the deceased was staying and whether the clothes he was wearing implicated him in the commission of the offence.
The other issues are whether Jowie was in the deceased’s house and whether he was the last person to be seen with the deceased, whether he had a gun and lastly, whether the accused was positively identified on the identification parade.
1. Whether Jowie Irungu knew Monica before her death
Justice Grace Nzioka termed Jowie’s claim that he did not know Monica as “untenable, insincere, an afterthought and false.”
She cited witness statements by Monica’s brother George Kimani who told the court that Jowie went to the same college (Kenya Polytechnic) with his late sister as well as evidence from a mobile data analyst who confirmed phone conversations between the two.
“It is the finding of this court that the evidence by the first accused person that he did not know the deceased prior to her death is untenable, insincere and is an afterthought and it is false. It is the finding of this court that the first accused was known to the deceased prior to her death,” said the judge.
2. Whether Jowie stole and used the stolen ID to access where the deceased was staying
On this, the judge found that a Kenyan by the name of Dominic Bisera lost his identity card on September 17 2018 when he went to Royal Park Estate, where Jowie and Maribe lived, to look for casual work.
It would later be proved in court that one of the people who visited Monica on the fateful night of September 19 2018 produced an ID in the name of Dominic Bisera.
3. Whether the clothes he was wearing implicate him in the commission of the offence
Justice Grace Nzioka pointed out that from the prosecution witness accounts, there was “collaborative evidence” on the clothes Jowie was wearing on the fateful day.
“Pamela, the first accused’s house help, stated that when Jowie left the house on 19th September 2018, he was wearing a white shirt with patterns, a maroon cape and brown shorts. A gentleman named Jennings stated he met with the first accused on 19th September and was wearing a t-shirt, brown shorts and a maroon cape. There is collaborative evidence as to the clothes which the first accused was wearing on the material date,” said the judge.
4. Whether he was in the deceased’s house and whether he was the last person to be seen with the deceased Justice Grace Nzioka
On this matter, the judge cited evidence from a protected witness who from the identification parade singled out Jowie whom he said left the house at 11 pm and no one else went to that house.
5. Whether Jowie had a gun on the day of the murder
On this, Justice Nzioka concurred with the prosecution that Jowie intentionally secured a gun from his neighbour which he “intended and used to subdue the deceased.”
“Kasaine testified that the first accused person had earlier on borrowed his gun to go on what he said was a refresher training, returned it and then borrowed it again… According to Kasaine, he was supposed to return it after two days but he didn’t. And so by 19th September, he (Jowie) had a gun,” the judge highlighted.
“That collaborates the evidence of Jennings that when they left Road House, the first accused person opened the dashboard of the car and removed the gun after putting a white kanzu on top of his clothes, went and picked a taxi and went where he was going.”
She added: “If he was armed with the gun and it was not used to kill the deceased. I am in concurrence with the prosecution that it was intended and used to subdue the deceased.”
6. Whether Jowie was positively identified on the identification parade
Justice Grace Nzioka said she was not satisfied with the evidence from the identification parade and therefore could not rely on this premise.
She pointed out that the accused person did not sign the form where he was supposed to confirm that he was satisfied with how the identification parade.
Further, the judge noted that one of the witnesses testified that before going to the identification parade, he had seen a photograph of Jowie therefore that must have aided and abetted him to quickly pick out the accused from the parade.
“We don’t find the first accused person guilty of the offence he is being charged with based purely on the evidence of the identification parade per se,” she said.
In her determination, the judge concluded that all the evidence “culminatively leads to a strong conclusion that the first accused person murdered the deceased.”
Justice Nzioka summed it up as follows:
“The first accused person stole the ID of Dominic Bisera two days before the commission of the offence, armed himself with a gun, carried a Kanzu, put it over his clothes, went to Lamuria gardens, disguised his identity, gained access to the apartment of the deceased, murdered the deceased, left the deceased’s house, changed his clothes and eventually went home and burnt the clothes which he wore during the commission of the offence.”
Following his conviction, Jowie will be sentenced for the offence of murder on March 8, 2024.
